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Gareth Bale blockbuster gives André Villas Boas chance of revenge

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southampton 0

Ron Lewis

May 6 2013, 1:01am, The Times

He struck from 25 yards as the match appered to be heading for a drawDylan Martinez/Reuters

It could be the revenge Hollywood scriptwriters would dream up. André Villas-Boas, discarded by Chelsea, could be back at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to deny his former employers the riches of the Champions League. Hollywood, like football, is all about money these days after all.

Certainly Villas-Boas has his action hero in place in Gareth Bale, who rescued Tottenham Hotspur from slipping farther behind Chelsea and Arsenal in the race for the remaining two available places in the top four.

If Spurs are not a one-man team, this was certainly a one-man goal, the type of special effects that have long been thrown in to liven up a blockbuster that has started to drag.